I've Got the Wedding Bell Blues...

As it relates to jewelry, of course!  My sister's daughter, Sarah, recently became engaged to a sweet guy named Kevin (Finally! They have dated for years!)  Anyhoo, Sarah showed me this picture of the jewelry she wanted to wear for her engagement photos:

Source: Tiffany.com

That is a Paloma Picasso beaded necklace folks - from Tiffany's - pricey!  But, stunning...and BLUE! All gemstones - Blue Chalcedony, Amazonite, and Gray Moonstone.  It's the Amazonite that gives that necklace its "Tiffany Blue" color.  Sarah's main color for her wedding will also be Tiffany Blue.

Tried as I may, I could not duplicate exactly those beauties you see in the picture above.  If I found Amazonite in 10mm rounds, I could not find Blue Chalcedony in the same size.  So, I just "bit the bullet" and ordered the gems.  I was a little scared at first when I opened up the package - I would never in a million years combine these stones in one piece.  But, I am not Paloma Picasso either.  I used her Tiffany necklace as a springboard, and came up with this design instead.  I bought the gems from Dakota Stones - they have never let me down!

Her wedding photographer played around with her necklace and her ring in this picture - love it!

Photo by Audra Wrisley Photography and Design

Looks even better on Sarah!  That beautiful boy in the picture is Thor - the sweetest German Shepherd you will ever meet, and one of Sarge's best friends!  Oh yeah, the handsome dude is Kevin!  Kevin is a doll - I am so happy for them both!!  Congratulations to my favorite niece named Sarah (yes...my only niece named Sarah)!

Photo by Audra Wrisley Photography and Design

And I swear - this is the song I was singing while I made that ensemble...and I still can't get it out of my head!

Thanks so much for stopping by!!!  Enjoy your weekend!

xo

Patti

Winner!

The winner of this wonderful book

by Cindy Wimmer is....

Lynda Carson of Fresh Baked Designs!!

Lynda - please email me (pattivan@comcast.net) your address and I will get this book out to you via snail mail!!

Thank you everyone!

GIVEAWAY!!!

Background

Cindy Wimmer wrote the best new jewelry-design book, The Missing Link.  She held a Blog Hop Tour just a couple of weeks ago.  I was very careful NOT to leave comments, as I already have the book!  But, Christine Damm wrote the most lovely blog post about her friendship with Cindy, that I caved...left a comment...and I WON!  Thank you, Christine and Cindy!

The Book

(Source - www.cindywimmer.com)

There are 30 different link designs, categorized for every level of wire work - from simple, to more complex. I would be remiss in not mentioning the stunning designs made with those links...swoon!

Here is just a small sampling of the links that I have made.

The Giveaway

Since I already have the book, I'd like to give away the copy I won (I asked Cindy - she said it was okay with her!)

How to Enter!

Two ways to enter!

1. Leave a comment on this blog post - equals 1 entry

2. Post a link to this blogpost on Facebook - equals 1 entry

For each task above, you must leave a separate comment on my blog!  I am not one for long contests, so I will pick a winner by Friday - November 8th.

Thanks for stopping by...best of luck!

xo

Patti

A Mish-Mash of Goings On....

Well, my Fundraising efforts on behalf of Miracle Horse Rescue have yielded just over $2,500 from September 5 - October 31st - $2,543.00 to be exact!  Thank you to everyone who shared my photo bombs on Facebook, including my Sales Ads!  

I have decided that I want to continue my efforts, and revamped my listings a bit.  From now on, 50% of all proceeds from sales in my shop will be donated to Miracle Horse Rescue.  Except, items made from the generosity of those artists who have donated beads to me - I am donating 100% of the proceeds from those sales.  Many thanks to Jan Onipenco of Molten Mayhem and Jeannie Dukic of  Jewelry by Jeannie!  

I am very slowly working through my stash of lampwork beads from Jan.  Specifically, this set:

The focal bead is quite large 1 1/4" - and the colors are just fabulous!! I made a necklace with  - yes - a link from Cindy Wimmer's new book, The Missing Link.

This link is the Corona link - I love the bare wire and coils together in one link!

I had EXTREMELY bright sunshine this morning - so taking Lolita outside for a photo session was not going to happen.  So instead, she stood in front of my closed basement door in natural daylight - I think this picture looks passable!

Yep - I made earrings with the two smallest beads in the set - these are so lightweight!

I have managed to carve an hour here..an hour there...to make other items as well.  I have 3 shows coming up, so time is of the essence!

Cute little lampwork birdie and matching beads by Donna Millard.

This sweet bronze flower charm by LeAnn Weih was begging to be attached!

I added another link from Cindy's book here - it's double hoops wrapped together.   In her book, the links are larger - these are teeny tiny!

Matching earrings with hand cut bead caps. Love the rustic finish on these beads.

I finally made the ear wires for my fold formed leaves!  Those are actually garnets nestled inside the leaves - another stone that just not photograph well!  They are actually a deep, deep red.

Tiny (4mm) Sun Stone cubes.  I added a teeny weeny tendril in copper.

More gorgeous lampwork from Donna Millard.

Instead of plain hoops, I added coils to these - very small!  The rustic rounds are by Jody Brimhall of Inspire Glass Studio.

I had two of these lovely, turquoise lampwork beads by Lynda Cogbill of Lyndas Lampwork left over from my bracelet I gave away a couple of weeks ago.  This is my favorite style of earring, made from heavy gauge wire and a large loop at the top.  Perhaps I like this because I get to bang the metal and let out any frustrations...I dunno...

I still cannot believe it is November 2nd!  Halloween was a relative bust in my neighborhood.  Although the forecast was for rain to hold off until well after 9:00 PM, it starting coming down in buckets by 6:30 PM.  Poor kids! And, someone had the audacity to post on Facebook that there are only 9 Sunday's until Christmas!  Ugh.....

Well, I hope you enjoy the rest of your weekend!  Thanks so much for stopping by!

It is finally my favorite season!!

Fall!  Actually, my favorite season is winter.  But, Fall will do!  Although in my neck of the woods, Northern Virginia, the maples have not turned quite as red as I like, it is still full of color...and inspiration!

I purchased a tutorial on Etsy a few weeks ago from Linda Aspenson Bergstrom on how to make leaves from copper.   I sat down at the bench on Saturday and played with some copper sheet - 22 gauge to be specific.  

These are pendant size- oh my, I had so much fun!  After fabricating, I tossed these in a bath of liver of sulfur, buffed, and tumbled.  The copper was gloriously shiny!  But then I added just a touch of golden gilder's paste - I wanted them to resemble the falling leaves in my backyard.

After showing these to my mother, she said those would be pretty smaller, as earrings.  So, back to the bench...

But this time, I skipped the Liver of sulfur.  I colored with the flame from my torch and added the tiniest amount of gilder's paste.  Most of these have the color on just the edges.  I am still experimenting.

The picture above shows the size comparison.  I added a few coats of Permalac to seal in the color.  I have actually made two pairs of earrings already, but the ear wires have to take a tumble before final assembly.

In the meantime, I wanted to use one of the leaves.  So, I whipped up this necklace using ....you guessed it...another link from Cindy Wimmer's new book, The Missing Link!  I was going for whimsical here...not sure if I achieved that exactly, but I still like this chain!

This is a very cool link - looks just like a light bulb!  Cindy had a tutorial  a while back in one of the wire magazines - it was either Step by Step Wire or Easy Wire - for the light bulb clasp.  I have actually used made these clasps before, but it has been awhile.  I couldn't find the tutorial (my magazine collection grows like my bead collection...ugh...I cannot find anything when I want it!).  So, I just followed the link design, but made the clasp in a heavier gauge - 14 gauge.

I wanted to use a copper leaf as a charm, so I made one of the light bulb links in 14 gauge, and strung a sweet little ceramic leaf charm by Karen Totten of Starry Road Studio, and the CUTEST  bronze squirrel charm!  This charm is very special, as it was made by LeAnn Weih of Summers Studio.  LeAnn has been learning the art of Lost Wax Casting - and this is one of her first charms!   I cannot explain this artform and give it justice - suffice it to say it is arduous!  I was - and am - extremely honored to have received this little beauty, which I think completes pendant...don't you?  Thank you again, LeAnn!!

Isn't he adorable!  I strung some tiny little jasper rounds on top of my copper leaf....I believe that little squirrel thinks those are food related!

Yes - again, I stood on a chair with a photography lamp in my left hand, camera in my right, and I am so proud that I did fall off that chair!  (There has GOT to be a better way to take pics of Lolita wearing necklaces...I just do not know what that is yet)!

That was my weekend.  I hope yours was just as wonderful!

Thank you so much for stopping by!

xo

Patti